American Whiskey Review #92: WhistlePig Single Barrel Select “Whistle Missile” /r/Bourbon Pick

Distillery: ?

Bottler: WhistlePig

Region: ?

Age: 15.5 Year.

ABV: 52.85%. Cask Strength.

Price: Sample courtesy of /u/pwnedapanda.

Color: 1.5, Auburn/Polished Mahogany.

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Nose: (according to the wife) “Ohhh this smells good!” Pineapple juice and well ripened cantaloupe are front and center. There’s menthol as well with a bit of black tea and something that smells a bit like Korean cinnamon punch (수정과/sujeonggwa).

Palate: It has a fairly dry feel to it. There’s an aromatic wood, it’s not oak, perhaps pine or cedar? That’s followed up by a baking spice mix more of the cinnamon punch and some pine nuts. With a few drops of water, the flavors mostly stay the same but those baking spices intensify in flavor.

Finish: Quite long. Main staying note is a sugary, well ripened cantaloupe that’s had a dusting of Tajín on it. Some more of that menthol pops in as well.

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Conclusion: “Make ’em whistle like a missile bomb, bomb. Every time I show up, blow up.” Just like the lyrics, this /r/bourbon pick showed up and delivered a nice bomb of flavor. The aromatic wood and baking spice notes are everything you want from a rye. The little bit of menthol and tea that pops in here and again is really refreshing and helps things from getting too heavy. But the one note that stands out among them all is that delicious cantaloupe. It lingers seemingly forever and I love it. I’m just sad I couldn’t get a bottle!

Final Score: 85.

American Whiskey Review #92, Rye Review #15, Whisky Network Review #393

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.